Dark Glow
by otakuwithanespresso
Summary: Steven sat alone in the comfort of the Beach House, letting the salty sea breeze rustle through his hair. The crashing of each wave hummed a sweet melody, a lullaby that calmed the stagnant mood. He sighed. Why couldn't he forget? He didn't want to relive the nightmare over again. They were all gone now. At the same time, it felt greedy to want them back. After all, no war could be
1. Memory of Another Past

The light gently began to shine through the windows of the beach house as the sun slowly rose from over the horizon. The billowing drapes and curtains twirled the tendrils of light, as they carved a path of light through the remnants of the evening's dusk. A dusty Cookie Cat alarm clock. A faded Lonely Blade II poster. An ornate silver mirror, the glass had shattered in another time and world. No, nothing was the same. The past had come and gone; a midsummer's wind blowing away. The writhing coils of light had reached the cozy bed and the unmoving lump that lay under the covers. The man grumbled at the intrusion and readjusted his body to face away from the light. Time passed. A cool breeze began to circulate from across the vast ocean. A bird began to sing. Saline waves crashed upon the sandy shore. Slowly, the man began to wake from his slumber. He leaned a leg on the wooden floor, humming as the wood creaked under his weight. Slowly, he rose from the bed and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. His hands plucked ingredients from the shelves and cabinets, following a routine they'd memorized a lifetime ago. Soon, he had a bowl of oatmeal before him. He took a bite of the goopy mixture and chewed, watching the beach waves crash, one after another. His gaze slowly drifted to the crystalline door on the other end of the abode. He twirled the spoon around in the bowl, churning its contents. Sighing, he reluctantly put down his breakfast and began to walk towards the beckoning door. At its entrance, he traced the facets of the gems embellishing the doorway. A gentle glow accompanied the top gem, as the door glided open to accompany the man's frame.

"Good morning," he whispered to the empty room. He continued walking across the rose-tinted room, walking through one hall and down another, until he reached a single crystalline heart.

"Hey, Garnet. Hey, Amethyst. Hey, Pearl." He said, seemingly to nobody. In response, four gems began to glow from within the heart. Blue. Red. Purple. White. He laughed.

"Of course I'm fine, Pearl." The white gem shimmered, as if in relief. The purple gem began to flash voraciously, demanding an answer.

"There's no way I can feed you, Amethyst." he sighed. "Without a physical body, it's impo-" He stopped. The purple glow faded, as it had regretted asking the question.

"It's just not possible." He finished. There was a long pause.

"Well, I've got to go now, so I'll see you later, I guess." He called out, scratching his neck awkwardly, as he backed out of the room. As the room was shrouded in darkness once more, the glow faded to match the darkness surrounding it.

The ocean breeze was wet on his face as he strummed chords on his ukulele. As if carried by the breeze, a familiar tune caught in his brain. He moved his arm to strum the first chord and began to play.

 _"If you're evil, and you're on the rise!_

 _You can count on the four of us taking you down_

 _'Cause we're good and evil never beats us_

 _We'll win the fight and then go out for pizzas!_

 _We are the Crystal Gems,_

 _We'll always save the day_

 _And if you think we can't_

 _We'll always find a way!"_

The Gem War had not been a fun twelve years. Gems and humans, fighting against a matriarchy. For twelve years, broken and disfigured gems realized they were in fact, perfect and as good as any other. For twelve years, Beach City became an interstellar harbor, directing spaceships into battles across the cosmos. Oh, the horror! Thousands of gems and humans alike lost, shattered, broken. It was truly despicable.

Steven laughed. It was a selfish thought. To think that such an era could be justified, and be valued. But how could he help himself? A single thought couldn't hurt.

For those twelve years, Steven had her.


	2. Rebel Stance

Tattered volunteer soldier posters decorated the buildings of Beach City. With the return of Lars and the Off Colors, the Gem War had begun to rise in full spur. Soon, hundreds of stolen ships were drifting down to join the Crystal Gems. A place where defective gems were accepted? Unbelievable! Of course, this was not all. With a diamond leading the rebellion against the Homeworld matriarchy, more and more gems continued to join their cause. In the midst of all of this, the humans were not left out. Ronaldo Fryman became both the informant and recruiter of the Crystal Gem army, transforming his blog "Keep Beach City Weird" into a newsfeed cataloging the latest scoop, all the while recruiting humans to fight in the war. No, this was no longer simply a gem war. Citizens of Delmarva and beyond trained in the art of battle, clashing swords in practice in the Ancient Sky Arena or manufacturing gem technology in Rose's Armory. With news of the Cluster spreading, humans far and wide realized that this was their war, too. Together, humans and gems fought for freedom! For acceptance! For love!

"Captain Lars! I need a status report!" called Nephrite over the ship intercom.

"We've lost the left wing, but the phalanx has broken through the vanguard of the Homeworld warships." yelled Lars "Our Nova Thrusters our down, but Fluorite is currently working on it now.

"Is there any chance of us winning?"

"There isn't a single hope of us winning, Nephrite!" started Lars, "But we'll win anyway."

"And why's that, Captain Lars?"

"Because we've found our purpose. We're all fighting for something. We may be outnumbered and the odds all against us, but the Homeworld soldiers are all blindly following orders."

For a while, there was silence.

"Nephrite, have you ever tried to fly a ship in pitch-black?" asked Lars.

"What? Why would I do that?" Nephrite questioned.

"Exactly. That's what those Homeworld soldiers are doing. And our job is to switch on the light and show them the way."

As if on cue, the holographic display hovering in front of Lars blinked.

"Our Nova Thrusters are back online! We're heading in now, Nephrite."

"Right behind you as always, Captain." Came the dutiful reply.

The two ships zipped off, starting their journey through the dark cosmos to spread the flame they bore as visionaries of the future. The twinkling of the thousands of distant stars dimmed in comparison to the vision the Crystal Gems had for the future. A place where gems could be who they wanted to be. A place where gems were no longer held back by a caste system or harsh rules. A place where gems were free.

Steven wandered through the quiet streets of Beach City, the ancient wood creaking under his weight. A thick fog had infested the city, oozing into the spaces where light crept through the overcast sky. Since the war ended, the town's population had drastically dropped, either from war casualties or pursuing careers abroad. Ronaldo became the website manager for a major news company, while Sour Cream found a job DJing for large parties in Empire City. Everyone seemed to have moved on, left their miseries behind while grasping their futures by the hand. Well, everyone except Steven. He still had Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl…well, in a way. Peridot and Lapis were at the barn. So why did he feel so empty? A gentle breeze parted the fog like stage curtains in front of Steven, revealing his location. Standing at the edge of the boardwalk, he overlooked a broken section of mangled wood and seaweed. This was where he first connected with her. The glow bracelet. How it lit up that dark chasm deep under the sea.

"You were that light to me, Connie." He whispered out to the curling waves. "Why did you leave me? The fire's been snuffed out and I can't see."

The memories were painful, and Steven didn't want to linger in them any longer than he had to. He turned away from the broken wood and continued to walk down the boardwalk, as the wind whistled a familiar tune in his ear.

Lo-o-o-o-oveLo-o-o-o-oveLo-o-o-o-oveLo-o-o-o-ove

"Okay, so Homeworld is making their last stand here." Garnet pointed.

"Padparadscha, can you see the immediate past?"

"Oh, yes! The fighter ships will break through the Homeworld vanguard!" Padparadscha excitedly announced.

"Great, so that means that if we move our infantry to here, we should be able to corner their forces, with a 30% accuracy rate," Garnet concluded. From the side, Pearl and Amethyst watched as the strategy division of the Crystal Gems continued stringing together meticulous plans.

"We're really lucky we have Padparadscha, you know what I mean?" Amethyst commented.

"Of course, Amethyst. Any gem with half a brain could tell you that with Padparadscha, we not only are able to relay information from the battlefield almost instantly, as she can see anything that's happened in the past." Pearl began, as the sun began to rise over the uncertain horizon. "Now, in sync with Ronaldo's reporting, we can prevail over Homeworld's troops with knowledge and flexible battle strategies!" Pearl finished proudly. A moment of silence hung in the air before uncertainty and doubt took hold.

"Although," Pearl hastily corrected. "Homeworld does have legions of Sapphires predicting each and every one of our moves, which could mean tha-"

"You haven't changed at all, have you, P?" Amethyst interjected with a laugh.

Pearl paused, before only saying, "A pearl's job is to protect her master, no matter who they are. Rose may be gone, but I'll carry on her vision."

The rays of the sun began to crawl inside the Beach House, where an empty bed lay, neatly furnished, waiting for its owner to return, as the Crystal Gems planned their attack.


End file.
